Just search for the specific item that you want and this website finds the best deals among many of the major online outfitters.

They also have a neat "rack simulator" which lets you input what protection you have on your rack. It will then graph the number of pieces you have in each size, and give you a weight distribution of your active vs passive protection.

Not everyone will be able to use this but give it a go: promotive.comBrowse through the teams and see if you qualify for one. They add new brands when they can. I voted to have Black Diamond, Patagonia, and Metolius added. We'll see.

I heard there's this guy who hangs out at hotel parking lots in Vegas selling gear to climbers. He mumbled something about T-wall and methamphetamine but he had great deals on cams, ipods, msr stoves, and rotting organic produce.

They also have a neat "rack simulator" which lets you input what protection you have on your rack. It will then graph the number of pieces you have in each size, and give you a weight distribution of your active vs passive protection.

Just when you thought they had dumbed it down all they could, with range finders, etc...

Check mountain project's "Dirtbag Deals" on the right side of the home screen for starters. Google shopping will help you look as well. For names, I'll start the list. Basically, go with whatever is cheapest. backcountry.com ems.com rei.com altrec.com alssports.com backcountrygear.com e-omc.com campsaver.com usoutdoor.com I'm obviously forgetting some, but these are some I've personally ordered from. At any time you can usually get 15-20% off any given climbing item. Best case, you'll get ~30% off. EMS and REI have big seasonal sales that give around 30% off if you get lucky. Always have an eye open. If you're in the NE, in EMS stores they give a 15% student discount on full priced items, all the time. Good luck picking up gear, and beware, it's an addiction...

spadout.com will automatically search and aggregate prices from all of those sites.

Do not shop at REI. Especially if you are just getting into it. REI is a joke. The only shop i have been to where I havent caught someone giving bad or incorrect advice is the boulder store in colorado... because its boulder. Once youve been climbing a while you can use it, but dont ask for advice. chances are, its off or absolutely wrong. I also dont recommend buying used until you know what to look for. MP members may be nice, but not all of them are, and you could get swindled. buy new to start. +1 for spadout. And Bentgate.

I am found many of them pretty close to each other in pricing - but places like Moosejaw gives you points that you receive with each purchase that can be used for free stuff later on. EMS has some good sales and when you are a regular customer you can get e-mail coupons for 15-20% off as well.

Do not shop at REI. Especially if you are just getting into it. REI is a joke. The only shop i have been to where I havent caught someone giving bad or incorrect advice is the boulder store in colorado... because its boulder. Once youve been climbing a while you can use it, but dont ask for advice. chances are, its off or absolutely wrong. I also dont recommend buying used until you know what to look for. MP members may be nice, but not all of them are, and you could get swindled. buy new to start. +1 for spadout. And Bentgate.

Personally, even though I have a low digit membership number,,,I think REI has outlived it's great years of service. There was no place to get gear when they started,,,Catalogs only, no internet, EMS and REI, LLBean, that was about it back in 70's. They had great deals, an assortment of the gear available,,,,and the dividend at the end of the year was nice to actually cash in for money. But their prices now seem to usually be over the 10% you get back at end of the year. More into clothing, fashion, not focused like years ago (in the Whitaker years) to climbers and backcountry campers. I would shop around on the internet to many of the suggested sites they have given here,,and skip on REI these days unless you find a specific item with a great deal.